History of the Women’s 6 Nations
With the 30th edition of the Women’s Six Nations starting in just a few days’ time, the Team here at Rugbystore thought this would be a good chance to re-visit the history of the women’s premier northern hemisphere tournament.
Home Nations (1996-1998)
Much like its older brother, the Women’s Championship started with the four home Nations; England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales came together to play the first tournament in 1996.
Unlike the men’s game, the Grand Slam, Triple Crown and Wooden Spoon were implemented from the outset, and there has never been a shared title in the Championship’s history.
Over the three years the Championship was played in the Home Nations format, England came close to complete domination; The Red Roses won the first two titles with a Grand Slam. The hat-trick of titles for England was spoiled in 1998 with an 8-5 loss to Scotland. Scotland closed out the short stint of the Home Nations with a Grand Slam.
5 Nations (1999-2001)
France joined the party in 1999 and the tournament was rebranded the 5 Nations. Their impact was felt straight away as they earned the ‘best of the rest’ moniker with 3 straight second place finishes. They weren’t the only new side in this period; with Ireland withdrawing from the tournament, it opened up an opportunity for a new side to join the fray.
Spain was the team that stepped up and, having won two European Championships, it was believed they would boost the overall quality of the competition. Much like their geographical neighbours, the Spanish did reasonably well in their two 5 Nations campaigns, coming third and tied for second.
Both Wales and Scotland started to struggle competitively at this point, with the Welsh receiving back-to-back Wooden Spoons. England on the other hand claimed all three titles as they went unbeaten throughout the 5 Nations era.
Six Nations (2002-Present)
2002 saw the re-introduction of Ireland, who were welcomed back with a Wooden Spoon as the 6 Nations era of women’s rugby got underway. England didn’t see their championship dominance carry over straight away, with France claiming three of the first four titles. The Red Roses did enjoy a string of success against the home nations in those early years though, winning ten straight Triple Crowns between 1999 and 2008.
In 2007 Spain was removed from the 6 Nations and replaced by Italy. Despite Spain being further up the world rankings at that point, the change was made to bring the competition into parity with the Men’s and U20’s competitions.
Ireland did manage to bag two titles in 2013 and 2015 in a small flurry where they were competitive with both England and France, but they have since fallen back to battling it out with the other nations to avoid the Wooden Spoon.
Scotland has had the worst time with the longest run of last place finishes; they landed bottom of the table for six consecutive seasons between 2011 and 2016.
England have been a dominant force throughout the history of the competition, winning 20 out of 29 titles across all three versions of the competition. The Red Roses current title winning run stands at six championships in a row, and they remain unbeaten in that period.
Overall, the Women’s Six Nations has continued to develop and growth as we embark on the 30 edition of the tournament; each year presents a new opportunity to raise the profile of women’s rugby in the northern hemisphere.
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